Self-retaining label cards for jugs



. Jan. 28, 1969 H. G. FORSYTH 3,423,861 SELF-RETAINING LABEL CARDS FOR JUGS Filed April 14, 1967 INVENTOR. Harold G. Forsyfh ATTORNEY United States Patent 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLQSURE A display card for jugs having aperture means to fit over the neck of a jug and slit means to snap behind the handle when the card is secured to the jug.

Briefly, the invention comprises a relatively stiff cardboard or plastic label card scored to fold in conformity to the contour of a conventional plastic jug and having openings to receive the neck and handle of the jug, the openings being provided with integral, flexible locking flaps which, when the card is pressed into engagement with the jug, engage the neck and handle to securely retain the card in place on the jug.

The former glass and pottery jugs used for merchandising liquid products are rapidly being replaced by molded plastic jugs having indented portions containing a convenient, integrally-molded carrying handle. Due to the various shapes and sizes of the present plastic jugs and to the fact that they are formed of semi-flexible, thermally distortable plastic, it is not commercially feasible to apply or lithograph descriptive labels thereon or to attach label tags thereto.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a simple, attractive, inexpensive label card which can be easily and instantly applied to a jug by simply manually pressing it over the neck and handle of the jug so that it will snap into locking engagement with the neck and handle to conform to the shape of the jug and retain itself securely in place thereon.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and efilciency. These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. Like numerals refer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout the description.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional plastic jug with the invention in place thereon;

FIG. 2 is a face view of the label card of this invention as it would appear before being applied to a jug; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the upper portion of the jug with the invention shown in longitudinal section thereon.

The jug illustrated at 10, in FIG. 1, is one of the conventional varieties at present on the market and is molded with a semi-cylindrical, laterally-extending, depressed portion 11 adjacent the top of one side, in which a mediallypositioned, inverted L-shaped handle 12 is integrally molded, and With an upwardly-extending, cylindrical, threaded neck 13 for receiving a conventional threaded cap 14.

The label card of this invention comprises a verticallyelongated, flexibly-resilient card 15 of relatively stiff, lightweight cardboard or plastic having a vertical length of substantially two and one-half times its width. The sides of the card may, if desired, be ornamentally indented, as indicated at 16, to provide a pleasing design.

The card is medially pre-punched to provide a neck hole 17, an upper handle hole 18 and a lower handle hole 19.

The neck hole 17 is formed to provide two arcuate side edges 20, spaced-apart sufiiciently to pass freely downward over the bottle neck 13 and joined at their lower extremities by a straight, horizontal, neck-gripping edge 21 and terminating at their tops in relatively short, outwardly-inclined, die-cut slits 22. A locking flap 23, havingan arcuate lower edge 24, extends between the die-cut slits 22 and closes the top of the neck hole '17. The slits 22 free the flap 23 so that it may flex upwardly, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, when engaged by the neck 13. The distance between the lower edge 24 of the locking flap 23 and the gripping edge 21 of the neck hole 17 is less than the diameter of the neck 13 so that when the upper portion of the card is forced downwardly on and about the neck of the jug, the locking flap 23 will resiliently bend upwardly to cause the arcuate lower edge 24 to exert a ratchet-like grip against the neck 13 below the cap 14 so as to resist upward movement of the card on the jug neck.

The handle holes 18 and 19 are joined by a vertical diecut 25 and the upper handle hole 18 has a straight upper edge 26 to resist upward tearing. Each handle hole has suffi-cient area and shape to fit snugly about the jug-connected extremities of the handle 12. However, the distance between the holes 18 and 19 is greater than the straight line distance between the jug-connected extremities of the handle so as to force the card to are inwardly against the semi-cylindrical wall of the depressed portion 11 when the vertical die-cut 25 is forced about and through the handle as shown in FIG. 1. The card is provided with an upper horizontal scored fold line 27 approximately at the top of the upper handle hole 18 and with a lower horizontal scored fold line 28 immediately below the lower handle hole 19 so that the car-d will readily fold to provide: an upper portion 29, which lies horizontal on the top of the jug; a medial portion 30, which follows the contour of the depressed portion 11 of the jug; and a lower apron portion 31 which lies against the front of the jug. The latter portions provide ample space for imprinting advertising, directions for use, trademark and other conventional label literature.

The locking flap 23 and the die-cut 25 have been, for the purpose of illustration, shown in double lines. Actually, the two sides of all of these apertures are in contact with each other.

While a specific form of the invention has been described and illustrated herein, it is to be understood that the same may be varied within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A self-retaining label card for use on jugs of the type having an upwardly projecting neck and an inverted L-shaped handle medially projecting from a depressed portion formed in said jug adjacent said handle comprising:

(a) a flexibly resilient card of than width;

(b) a neck hole in said card adjacent its upper extremity;

(0) two vertically spaced-apart handle holes in said card positioned below and in vertical alignment with said neck hole; and

(d) a vertical cut slit connecting the uppermost handle hole to the lowermost handle hole so that said handle may be forced outwardly through said slit to position the attached extremities of said handle in said handle holes so as to allow said slit to close and retain said card in place with the neck of the jug projecting upwardly through said neck hole.

2. A self-retaining label card as described in claim 1 in which two opposite side edges of said neck hole are sufficiently spaced apart to pass freely downward on said neck and in which the two opposite intervening side edges greater vertical length are spaced apart less than the diameter of said neck so that they will flex and grip said neck when forced downwardly.

3. A self-retaining label card as described in claim 2 having slits formed in said card at the extremities of one of said intervening edges to form a locking flap which will flex upwardly to grip said neck when forced downwardly thereover.

4. A self-retaining label card as described in claim 3 in which the first two opposite side edges are arcuately indented outwardly to conform to the circumference of said neck.

5. A self-retaining label card as described in claim 4 in which the intervening edge opposite said locking flap is straight so that it will initially contact said neck at its mid-point.

6. A self-retaining label card as described in claim 5 in which the edge of said locking flap is arcuately indented so as to substantially conform to the circumference of said neck when said flap is flexed upwardly.

7. A self-retaining label card as described in claim 1 in which the distance between said handle holes exceeds the straight line distance between the jug-attached extremities of said handle so as to force said card to how 4 toward said jug to conform to the depressed portion of the latter.

8. A self-retaining label card as described in claim 7 having a scored fold line formed in said card and extending laterally thereof between said neck hole and said two handle holes to facilitate folding of said card downwardly into the depressed portion of said jug.

9. A self-retaining label card as described in claim 8 having a second laterally extending scored fold line positioned below said two handle holes to facilitate folding of the lowermost portion of said card toward the side of said jug.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,699,915 1/1929 Peterson -21 2,060,762 11/1936 Meinhold 402I 2,340,719 2/ 1944 Walter 40-3 10 2,651,862 9/1953 Fine 40-312 EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner. WENCESLAO I. CONTRERAS, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 403 l0 

